Aclu Investigating Police Actions

July 5, 1991|By CINDY ELMORE, Staff Writer

POMPANO BEACH -- The American Civil Liberties Union says it will continue investigating whether city police stop and question people based upon their race, despite police assurances that no such practice exists.

Police Chief Stan Tipton denied the practice in a letter to the ACLU`s Broward County chapter and criticized the group for relying on newspaper accounts for its investigation.

``Had they done an investigation, I think they would have been pleased`` with the way the department operates, Tipton said.

Two city residents told local newspapers in the spring that they were routinely stopped and questioned by city police while passing through neighborhoods in which they were a racial minority.

Jan Arvo, who is white, said she was stopped so often in the predominantly black Collier City neighborhood where she lives that she carries in her car a letter from police warning patrol officers not to harass her.

Michael Boykin, who is black, said he was stopped so often while riding his bicycle at night through predominantly white Old Pompano that one police officer suggested he carry an identification card listing his work schedule.

It is a violation of federal civil rights laws for police to stop and question a person based only on race.

After those newspaper accounts, the ACLU demanded any police documents that would show a policy of stopping and questioning people for racial reasons. They found no such policies but told Tipton the group was still concerned that police practices were at odds with official policy.

In a second letter, the group asked what steps the Police Department was taking to re-educate officers on the law.

At first, ``I wasn`t even going to acknowledge it,`` Tipton said. ``I think it was a moot point.``

But last week Tipton answered, writing, ``I am quite certain that the officers of this Police Department are able to balance the constitutional guarantees of the individual against the protection of the community as a whole.``